System, method, and computer program for routing traffic to a service in a network including at least one virtual network service

ABSTRACT

A system, method, and computer program product are provided for routing traffic to a service in a network including at least one virtual network service. In use, data traffic directed to at least one first component in a network system is received. Further, one or more second components capable of handling the data traffic are identified based on information associated with the data traffic, the one or more second components including one or more virtual services or one or more physical services. Additionally, at least one of the one or more second components is selected to receive the data traffic, based on criteria associated with the at least one of the one or more second components and the information associated with the data traffic. Moreover, the data traffic is sent to the at least one of the one or more second components.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to telecommunications and/or datacommunications and, more particularly to network function virtualization(NFV) of telecommunications networks.

BACKGROUND

Network Function Virtualization is a term or a name of a proposedarchitecture of telecom services as published by the EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) in a series of documentsavailable from the ETSI website. NFV uses generic hardware platform andsoftware adapted for the generic hardware platform. Thus, NFV creates anetwork much more flexible and dynamic than a legacy communicationnetwork. In NFV-based networks, a Virtual Network Function (VNF)decouples the software implementation of the network function from theinfrastructure resources it runs on by virtualization. A network serviceis based on one or more VNFs and/or Physical Network Functions (PNFs),their interconnections, and chaining definitions. The VNFs can beexecuted on almost any generic hardware processing facility. Therefore,VNFs may be installed, removed, and moved between hardware facilities,much more easily, less costly and thus, more frequently.

The flexibility of the NFV-based network enhances the means availablefor optimizing the network's capacity and performance. However,currently there are not available techniques for routing traffic tospecific services, based on a content of the traffic.

There is thus a need for addressing these and/or other issues associatedwith the prior art.

SUMMARY

A system, method, and computer program product are provided for routingtraffic to a service in a network including at least one virtual networkservice. In use, data traffic directed to at least one first componentin a network system is received. Further, one or more second componentscapable of handling the data traffic are identified based on informationassociated with the data traffic, the one or more second componentsincluding one or more virtual services or one or more physical services.Additionally, at least one of the one or more second components isselected to receive the data traffic, based on criteria associated withthe at least one of the one or more second components and theinformation associated with the data traffic. Moreover, the data trafficis sent to the at least one of the one or more second components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a method for routing traffic to a service in anetwork including at least one virtual network service, in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system associated with anNFV-based communication network, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a hardware unit of anNFV-based network, in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified diagram of an NFV management system, inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified diagram of a deployed NFV-based network,in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system for routing traffic to a service in anetwork including at least one virtual network service, in accordancewith one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network architecture, in accordance with onepossible embodiment.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary system, in accordance with oneembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a method 100 for routing traffic to a service in anetwork including at least one virtual network service, in accordancewith one embodiment.

As shown, data traffic directed to at least one first component in anetwork system is received. See operation 102. The component may includea physical component (e.g. a physical network service, etc.) and/or avirtual network service. In one embodiment, the data traffic may bereceived by a service specific management module that may include one ormore virtual network functions.

Moreover, the network system may include any type of system with variousphysical network components and/or virtual network components. Forexample, the network system may include an NFV-based network, a physicalnetwork, or a hybrid physical/NFV-based network.

Further, one or more second components capable of handling the datatraffic are identified based on information associated with the datatraffic, the one or more second components including one or more virtualservices and/or one or more physical services. See operation 104. Theone or more second components capable of handling the data traffic mayinclude physical components and/or virtual network services.

The information associated with the traffic may include any information,such as content type, origin information, destination information, thecontent itself, and/or various other information. For example, the datatraffic content may be analyzed to identify the components capable ofhandling the data traffic.

Additionally, at least one of the one or more second components isselected to receive the data traffic, based on criteria associated withthe at least one of the one or more second components and theinformation associated with the data traffic. See operation 106. Thecomponent selected to receive the traffic may include a virtual networkservice/component and/or a physical network component/service.

Furthermore, the selection of the component to receive the traffic maybe based on any criteria associated with the component. For example, theselection of the component/service to receive the data traffic may bebased on a monetary cost. In this case, the monetary cost may include acost of utilizing the service, activating the service, processing datausing the service, and/or various other costs.

As another example, the selection of the component/service to receivethe data traffic may be based on a processing cost. The processing costmay be associated with an amount of effort/work required by thecomponent/service to process the data. Of course, any number of otherfactors may be considered, such as criteria associated with a servicelevel agreement (SLA) or jitter associated with the components, etc. Inone embodiment, the selection of the component to receive the datatraffic may be based on a weighted combination of multiple criteriaassociated with the available components.

Additionally, in one embodiment, a routing table may be utilized toselect the component to receive the data traffic. In this case, therouting table may include the components capable of handling the datatraffic and the routing table may correlate a plurality of possibleinput types to each of the components capable of handling the datatraffic. As an option, the component that correlates to an input typeassociated with the data traffic may be selected to receive the datatraffic.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, a cost table may be utilized to generatethe routing table. In this case, the cost table may correlate criteriaassociated with each of the potential components to the components. Asan example, the criteria associated with each of the components mayinclude a cost per unit and/or a processing time, etc.

As shown further in FIG. 1, the data traffic is sent to the at least oneof the one or more second components. See operation 108. In oneembodiment, the method 100 may be implemented utilizing one or morevirtual network functions or features (VNFs). For example, sending thedata traffic to the at least one of the one or more second componentsmay include routing the data traffic utilizing at least one VNF

Utilizing the method 100, in on embodiment, a service specific managermay be employed in a system that chooses or auctions which service toapply to a specific request, among multiple possible cloud and physicalservice instances, based on different criteria such as usage, time, andcommunication costs.

In the context of the present description, the terms “network” and“communication network” refer to the hardware and software connectingone or more communication elements including wireline networks, wirelessnetworks, and/or combinations thereof.

The terms “network function virtualization” (NFV) and virtual networkfunction (NFV) are described in a series of documents published by theEuropean Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and availablefrom the ETSI website. The term “virtual network function or feature”(VNF) refers to a particular implementation of a function, a feature, ora service provided by the network, internally within the network, orexternally to a customer, subscriber, end-user, a terminal or a server.A VNF may include the software program implementation of the function orfeature or service. The term VNF instance (VNF-I) refers to a particularprocess or task executing the VNF program by a particular virtualmachine or processor or computing facility and/or used by a particularcustomer (or subscriber, end-user, terminal or server, etc.).

The term “service” refers to any type of use (such as a use case) that aNFV-based communication network may offer or provide to one or morecommunication elements. A service may include switching data or contentbetween any number of elements, providing content from a server to acommunication element or between servers, securing and protectingcommunication and content, processing content provided by the customeror by a third party, providing backup and redundancy, etc. A service maybe using partial functionality of a VNF or may include one or more VNFsand/or one or more VNF instances forming a service sub-network (orinterconnection model). In the context of the present description, theterm “chain” may refer to such service sub-network, such as a particularplurality of VNFs and/or VNF instances associated with a particularservice type or a service instance.

The term “deployment”, when referring to hardware elements, includingprocessing elements, memory elements, storage elements, connectivity(communication) elements, etc., refer to the configuration or topologyof these hardware elements creating the NFV-based network. The term“deployment”, when referring to software elements, such a VNFs and VNFinstances, refers to the association between such software elements andhardware elements.

The term “deployment optimizations” refers to association of softwareand hardware elements in a manner that satisfies a particular set ofrequirements and/or rules, such as load-related and performance-relatedrequirements, or a manner that makes a better use of a particularhardware deployment, such as by reducing operational cost.

The terms “service deployment optimization”, or “service optimization”or “chain optimization” refer to optimizing the deployment of a servicechain, i.e., optimizing the deployment of one or more VNF instancesmaking a particular service. The terms chain optimization and serviceoptimization may thus be used interchangeably.

The term “session” refers to a communication connection between two ormore entities that persists for a period of time during which data maybe exchanged there between. A session may be implemented and managed bya session layer in the corresponding network protocol. The term sessionmay include a network session and a logical session. The network sessionmay be associated with the devices used to communicate, while thelogical session may be associated with the communicating parties (users)and may persist regardless of the communication means that the partiesare using.

The term “service continuity” includes and applies to the terms “sessioncontinuity” and “streaming continuity”. Streaming refers to streamingmedia, session or service, such as sound (including voice), video,multimedia, animation, etc. The term service usually applies to a groupof VNFs (or the functionality provided by the group of VNFs) but mayalso apply to a single VNF (or the functionality provided by the VNF).The term “continuity” indicates that the session or the service is notinterrupted, or that an interruption is short enough that a user is notaware of such interruption, or that the interruption does not cause anyloss of data, or that the loss is handled in acceptable manner (e.g. afew packets of speech lost, but the conversation can continue, etc.).

The term “availability” or “service availability” refers to a level ofthe service, or a characteristic of the service, in which the serviceprovider should provide the service, albeit possible hardware orsoftware faults. For example, the service provider may obligate to thecustomer to provide a particular level of processing power,communication features such as bandwidth, latency, and jitter, databaseconsistency, etc. Such level or characteristic of the service should beavailable to the customer even when a hardware component or a softwarecomponent providing the service do not function properly. Providingavailability may therefore require additional resources such as backupresources and/or mirroring. Hence “availability” may also refer to theterms “fault recovery” and “redundancy”.

The term “fault recovery” refers to the process of recovering one ormore of the network's services, functions, and features after a fault,whether caused by a hardware malfunction, a system crash, a software bugor a security breech or fault. A hardware malfunction includes, but isnot limited to, any type of inadequate performance associated with, forexample, power supply, processing units, memory, storage, transmissionline, etc. The term “fault recovery” also applies to recovering thefunctionality of one or more VNFs or VNF instances with respect to anyof the above. The terms security breech or security fault may be usedinterchangeably.

The term “redundancy” refers to any type of component of the networkthat is fully or partly duplicated, provided in standby mode, orotherwise available, to replace another component of the network whenthat other component stops functioning properly or otherwise indicatessome kind of fault. Redundancy may apply, but is not limited to,hardware, software, data and/or content.

More illustrative information will now be set forth regarding variousoptional architectures and uses in which the foregoing method may or maynot be implemented, per the desires of the user. It should be stronglynoted that the following information is set forth for illustrativepurposes and should not be construed as limiting in any manner. Any ofthe following features may be optionally incorporated with or withoutthe exclusion of other features described.

The principles and operation of a system, method, and computer programproduct for routing traffic to a service in a network including at leastone virtual network service according to various embodiments may befurther understood with reference to the following drawings andaccompanying description.

FIG. 2 illustrates a simplified diagram of a system 200 associated withan NFV-based communication network 210, in accordance with oneembodiment. As an option, the system 200 may be implemented in thecontext of the details of FIG. 1. Of course, however, system 200 may beimplemented in the context of any desired environment. Further, theaforementioned definitions may equally apply to the description below.

As shown in FIG. 2, at least one NFV-based network 210 is provided. TheNFV-based communication network 210 includes an NFV management system2111, an NFV-orchestration (NFV-O) module 212, and a service specificmanager module 213, according to one embodiment.

In the context of the present network architecture, the NFV-basednetwork 210 may take any form including, but not limited to atelecommunications network, a local area network (LAN), a wirelessnetwork, a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, peer-to-peernetwork, cable network, etc. While only one network is shown, it shouldbe understood that two or more similar or different NFV-based networks210 may be provided.

The NFV-based network 210 may include one or more computation facilities214, each including one or more hardware units and being interconnectedby communication links to form the NFV-based network 210. At least oneof the computation facilities 214 may include the NFV management system211. The NFV management system 211 may include the NFV-O module 212 andthe service specific manager module 213.

The NFV-O module 212 may be executed by one or more processors, orservers, such as computation facilities 214, of the NFV-based network210. The NFV-O module 212 may be executed as an NFV-O instance orcomponent. The NFV-O module 212 may therefore include a plurality ofNFV-O instances or components as will be further explained below.

The service specific manager module 213 may be a part or a component ofthe NFV-O module 212. However, the service specific manager module 213,the NFV-O module 212 and the NFV management system 211 may be separatesoftware programs provided by different vendors. In one embodiment, theNFV-based network 210 may even have a plurality of any of the NFVmanagement systems 211, the NFV-O modules 212, and/or the servicespecific manager module 213.

A plurality of devices 215 are communicatively coupled to the NFV-basednetwork 210. For example, a server computer 216 and a computer orterminal 217 may be coupled to the NFV-based network 210 forcommunication purposes. Such end-user computer or terminal 217 mayinclude a desktop computer, a lap-top computer, a tablet computer,and/or any other type of logic or data processing device. Still yet,various other devices may be coupled to the NFV-based network 210including a personal digital assistant (PDA) device 218, a mobile phonedevice 219, a television 220 (e.g. cable, aerial, mobile, or satellitetelevision, etc.)2, etc. These devices 215 may be owned and/or operatedby end-users, subscribers and/or customers of the NFV-based network 210.Others of the devices 215, such as administration station 221, may beowned and/or operated by the operator of the NFV-based network 210.

A network administrator 222 may supervise at least some aspects of theoperation of the NFV-based network 210 by controlling an NFVinfrastructure including the NFV management system 211, the NFV-O 212,and the service specific manager module 213.

FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified block diagram 300 of a hardware unit 323of an NFV-based network, in accordance with one embodiment. As anoption, the block diagram 300 may be viewed in the context of thedetails of the previous Figures. Of course, however, block diagram 300may be viewed in the context of any desired environment. Further, theaforementioned definitions may equally apply to the description below.

In one embodiment, the hardware unit 323 may represent a computingfacility 214 of FIG. 2, or a part of a computing facility 214. Thehardware unit 323 may include a computing machine. The term computingmachine relates to any type or combination of computing devices, orcomputing-related units, including, but not limited to, a processingdevice, a memory device, a storage device, and/or a communicationdevice.

The hardware unit 323 may therefore be a network server, and thecomputing facility 214 may be a plurality of network servers, or adata-center, including cloud-based infrastructure. As an option, thehardware unit 323 may be implemented in the context of any of thedevices of the NFV-based network 210 of FIG. 2 and/or FIG. 5 and in anydesired communication environment.

Each hardware unit 323 (or computing machine, computing device,computing-related unit, and/or hardware component, etc.), including eachcommunication link between such hardware units, may be associated withone or more performance type and a respective performance rating orvalue, where the hardware unit and/or communication link is operative toprovide the performance value. Performance types are, for example,processing power, cash memory capacity, regular memory capacity (e.g.RAM, dynamic, or volatile memory, etc.), non-volatile memory (e.g. suchas flash memory, etc.) capacity, storage capacity, power, cooling,bandwidth, bitrate, latency, jitter, bit error rate, and packet loss,etc. Virtual machines may run on top of the hardware unit 323 and a VNFmay be run on one or more of such virtual machines.

The hardware unit 323 may be operative to provide computinginfrastructure and resources for any type and/or instance of softwarecomponent executed within the NFV-based network 210 of FIG. 2. In thisregard, the hardware unit 323 may be operative to process any of theprocesses described herein, including but not limited to, anyNFV-related software component and/or process. The hardware unit 323 isoperative to process virtual network functions (VNFs), VNF instances,network function virtualization orchestration (NFV-O) software, modulesand functions, data center management software, and/or cloud managementsystems (CMS), etc.

In various embodiments, the hardware unit 323 may include at least oneprocessor unit 324, one or more memory units 325 (e.g. random accessmemory (RAM), a non-volatile memory such as a Flash memory, etc.), oneor more storage units 326 (e.g. including a hard disk drive and/or aremovable storage drive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetictape drive, a compact disk drive, etc.), one or more communication units327, one or more graphic processors 328 and displays 329, and one ormore communication buses 330 connecting the various units/devices.

The hardware unit 323 may also include one or more computer programs331, or computer control logic algorithms, which may be stored in any ofthe memory units 325 and/or storage units 326. Such computer programs,when executed, enable the hardware unit 323 to perform various functions(e.g. as set forth in the context of FIG. 1, etc.). The memory units 325and/or the storage units 326 and/or any other storage are possibleexamples of tangible computer-readable media.

It is appreciated that computer program 331 may include any of the NFVmanagement system 211, the NFV-O 212, and/or the service specificmanager module 213 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a simplified diagram of an NFV management system 411,in accordance with one embodiment. As an option, the NFV managementsystem 411 may be implemented in the context of the details of theprevious Figures. For example, in one embodiment, the NFV managementsystem 411 may represent the NFV management system 211 of FIG. 2. Ofcourse, however, the NFV management system 411 may be implemented in thecontext of any desired environment. Further, the aforementioneddefinitions may equally apply to the description below.

In one embodiment, the NFV management system 411 may include an NFV-Omodule 412, and a service specific manager module 413. The NFVmanagement system 411 may include one or more NFV-O modules 412. Invarious embodiments, each of the NFV-O modules 412 may includeorchestration and workflow management 432 that is responsible formanaging (i.e. orchestrating) and executing all NFV-O processes,including inbound and/or outbound communication and interfaces.

The NFV management system 411 may include a deployment optimizationmodule 433 that enables a user to devise automatic mechanisms fornetwork optimizations. The deployment optimization module 433 mayoperate these mechanisms automatically and continuously to optimize thedistribution of VNFs 450 and their VNF instances in real-time (ornear-real-time) by migrating VNFs 450 and VNF instances (e.g. VNFinstances 551 of FIG. 5, etc.) between hardware units (e.g. hardwareunits 551 of FIG. 5, etc.).

The NFV management system 411 may also include a chain optimizationmodule 434. The chain optimization module 434 may be a part ofdeployment optimization module 433 and may enable a user to deviseautomatic mechanisms for optimizing the deployment of chains or groupsof VNFs 450 and VNF instances. A service provided by an NFV-basednetwork is typically made of a particular chain or group of particularVNFs 450 and their respective VNF instances. The chain optimizationmodule 434 optimizes the deployment of chains or groups of servicesbetween hardware units according to the requirements and specificationsassociated with and/or adapted to the particular service, or chain, or agroup.

The chain optimization module 434 may operate these mechanismsautomatically and continuously to optimize in real-time the operation ofchains or groups of the VNFs 450 and their VNF instances by re-planningtheir distribution among hardware units and optionally also by migratingthe VNFs 450 and associated VNF instances between hardware units.

The NFV management system 411 may also include a service fulfillmentmodule 435 that manages service and resource (e.g. VNF) instancelifecycle activities as part of the process and orchestrationactivities. This may include on boarding, initiation (e.g.instantiation), installation and configuration, scaling, termination,software update (e.g. of a running VNF, etc.), test environment, and/orrollback procedure. Additionally, the service fulfillment module 435 mayalso provide decomposition of an order to multiple network services, andthe activation of such network service as a single VNF instance, or as achain of VNF instances.

Order decomposition includes translating business orders into a networkoriented service implementation plan. For example, a business order maybe decomposed into a plurality of functions, some of which may beprovided by different software programs or modules (e.g. such as variousVNFs) instantiated as a plurality of VNF instances across one or moredata centers. Performing order decomposition, the service fulfillmentmodule 435 may consult the deployment optimization module 433 for thebest deployment option to customer order in a given network and resourcecondition. Performing order decomposition, the service fulfillmentmodule 435 may then initiate the service including all its components.Order decomposition may be performed in several locations across anNFV-O hierarchy. For example, initial decomposition may be performed inthe root of the NFV-O, and then further decomposition may be performedin the relevant data centers.

In one embodiment, an activation and provisioning module may provide theplan for activation and provisioning of the service to the orchestrationand workflow management 432. The activation and provisioning module mayalso provide feedback on fulfillment status to an upper layer. Thisupper layer may include the business support services (BSS).

The NFV management system 411 may also include an assurance module 436and a service management module 452 capable of gathering real time dataon network elements' status and creating a consolidated view of servicesand network health. The assurance module 436 includes assurancefunctionality and may interact with the service management module 452 toperform assurance related lifecycle management procedures. Lifecyclemanagement can be also triggered by other modules, policies, manualintervention, or from the VNFs themselves, etc. The assurance module 436and the service management module 452 may also trigger events associatedwith lifecycle management and faults. The assurance module 436 and theservice management module 452 may monitor the health of the network andmay execute fault recovery activities.

The assurance module 436 and the service management module 452 providethe ability to monitor services' status and performance according to therequired criteria. The assurance module 436 and the service managementmodule 452 may also interact with the network infrastructure (e.g.including computing, storage, and networking, etc.) to receive therequired information, analyze the information, and act upon eachincident according to the defined policy. The assurance module 436 andthe service management module 452 are able to interact with analytics toenrich a policy assurance module. Interfaces may also be provided forimplementation by an external system.

The NFV management system 411 may also include a policy managementmodule 437 that enables a user to define and configure offline and/orreal-time policy for controlling VNF and service related rules. Thepolicy management module 437 may contain the preconfigured policies andactivities as well as selection rules for the NFV-O process to determinethe preferred policy or activity to be performed for a particularprocess event. The policy management may be multi-layered, includingvendor policy, service policy, and operator policy, etc. The policymechanism may trigger the suitable policy layer(vendor/service/operator).

The NFV management system 411 may also include an administration module438 that provides an overall view of the network, manual lifecyclemanagement and intervention, and manual system administration andconfiguration. The administration module 438 may be operable to enable auser such as an administrator (e.g. administrator 222 of FIG. 2, etc.)to manage, view, and operate the NFV-O system. The administration module438 may also provide a view of the network topology and services, theability to perform specific activities such as manual lifecyclemanagement, and changing service and connectivity configuration.

The NFV management system 411 may also include an inventory managementmodule 439 that maintains a distributed view of deployed services andhardware resources. Inventory catalogues may reflect the currentinstantiation and allocation of the resources and services within thenetwork mapped into products and/or customer entities.

The NFV management system 411 may also include a big data analyticsmodule 440 that analyzes network and service data to support networkdecisions involving services and subscribers to improve networkperformance based on actual usage patterns. The big data analyticsmodule 440 may also generate what-if scenarios to supportbusiness-oriented planning processes. Additionally, the big dataanalytics module 440 may function to analyze and evaluate theinformation for various planning aspects (e.g. Virtual Network CapacityPlanning, Data Center Capacity Planning, Value based planning, Costanalysis for network deployment alternatives, etc.), deployment andmanagement (e.g. Guided Operator Recommendations. What-if scenarioanalysis and simulation, application rapid elasticity and resource usageoptimization, etc.), and may support business-oriented planningprocesses.

The NFV management system 411 may also include a catalog module 441 mayinclude records defining various aspects of the network, such asproducts, services, and resources such as hardware units and VNFs (e.g.a VNF directory, etc.). The catalog module 441 may include a collectionof centralized, hierarchical information repositories containingresource, service and product definitions with their relationship,versioning, and/or descriptors, etc. Such records may include templatesenabling a user, such as an administrator, to define particular networkcomponents such as resources, products, services, etc. A resourcetemplate may define resources descriptors, attributes, activities,procedures, and/or connectivity, etc. A service template may define aservice variation from resource building blocks. A product template maydefine parameters of a sellable product (e.g. prices, rating, etc.)based on service composition (e.g. in one embodiment, this may be partof a BSS catalogue).

The inventory management module 439, the big data analytics module 440,and/or the catalog module 441 may support multiple data centers,multiple CMSs and provide a centralized view across the infrastructure.The inventory management module 439, the big data analytics module 440,and/or the catalog module 441 may also support hybrid networks andservices maintaining both physical and virtual resources.

The NFV management system 411 may also include an accounting andlicensing module 442 that may be operable to record and manage networksoftware usage data for commercial purposes including licensing,accounting, billing, and reconciliation of services with subscribers andproviders. The accounting and licensing module 442 may manage licensingand usage of virtual network applications, including the ability tosupport complex rating schemes, based on various parameters such as CPU,memory, data, etc. The accounting and licensing module 442 may enableusers to define the pricing of particular VNF modules and providesettlement with vendors. The accounting and licensing module 442 mayalso enable the evaluation of internal costs of services provided withinthe network for calculating return on investment (ROI).

The NFV management system 411 may also include a fault recovery module443 (otherwise named disaster recovery planning module or DRP, etc.)that enables a user to plan and manage disaster recovery procedures forthe NFV-O and/or the entire network.

The NFV management system 411 may also include a security managementmodule 444 that provides the authentication authorization and accountingservices of application security across the network. The securitymanagement module 444 may include, for example, an authentication moduleand function. In one embodiment, the authentication module and function(e.g. including identity management, etc.) may authenticate the identityof each user defined in the system. Each user may have a unique useridentity and password. The system may support password basedauthentication with flexible password policy. Integration with externalauthentication providers may be done via additional system enhancements.The authorization module and function may support a role-based accesscontrol (RBAC) mechanism, where each user is assigned with one or moreroles according to the business needs based on the least privilegesconcept (e.g. standard or administrator roles). In one embodiment, theaccounting and licensing module 442 may provide an audit of securityevents such as authentication or login events.

As an option, the security management module 444 may use rules toprotect sensitive information. For example, such rules may be used toensure the data accessed is used for the specific purposes for which itwas collected, sensitive information is encrypted when instorage/transit and masked/truncated on display and logs, and that theentire security system is deployed in the customer's intranet network(i.e. behind network/infrastructure measures), in an independent domain,etc.

In one embodiment, the NFV management system 411 may further include aSecure Development Life Cycle (SDLC) module that ensures that securityaspects are handled during a project's life cycle, such as securitydesign, security testing, etc.

As shown further in FIG. 4, the NFV management system 411 may include aservice planning module 445. The service planning module 445 may be usedby a communication service provider (CSP) sales representative,enterprise, and/or technician, as part of selling engagement processwith enterprise/SMB customers.

The service planning module 445 may also provide the ability to interactwith catalogues, customer data, network and ordering systems to provideonline network service proposals for the enterprise customers withability to quote update the proposal, validate the serviceability andnetwork inventory, and once done, provide the service order foractivation using the northbound interface.

The service specific manager module 413 may also be part of the NFV-Omodule 412. The service specific manager module 413 to implement thefunctionality described in the context of FIG. 1 (e.g. some or all ofthe operations associated with method 100).

The NFV management system 411 may also include east/west APIs 446 thatinclude various domains/activities interfaces, including an informationsource to a big data repository, and interaction capability with aphysical network system (OSS).

Northbound APIs 447 provides application programming interfaces (APIs)to various external software packages, such as business support system(BSS) for service order fulfillment, cancel and update activities,status notification, resource inventory view, monitoring system,assurance system, service planning tool, administration tool for systemview and configuration, and big data repository, etc.

Further, the southbound APIs 448 may provide APIs for external softwarepackages, such as CMS (including service and VNFs lifecycleactivities—receiving from the infrastructure status and monitoringinformation for upstream system and activities [e.g. assurance]), an SDNController (or other connectivity system) to configure inter and intradata center connectivity, an EMS to configure the VNF, and a VNF for adirect configuration.

FIG. 5 illustrates a simplified diagram 500 of a deployed NFV-basednetwork 510, in accordance with one embodiment. As an option, thediagram 500 may be viewed in the context of the details of the previousFigures. For example, in one embodiment, the deployed NFV-based network510 and associated elements may represent the NFV-based networks andassociated elements described in the context of the previous Figures. Ofcourse, however, the diagram 500 may be viewed in the context of anydesired environment. Further, the aforementioned definitions may equallyapply to the description below.

As shown in FIG. 5, the NFV-based network 510 may include hardware units523 connected via transmission lines 549, and VNFs implemented assoftware programs 550 installed in hardware units 523. Some of thehardware units 523 may be directly connected to a customer. The customermay be a subscriber, an end-user, or an organization, represented hereinas a terminal or a server 552, or a plurality of terminals and/orservers 552. The NFV-based network 510 may also include a NFV managementsystem 511, an NFV-orchestration (NFV-O) 512, and a service specificmanager module 513 (which may all represent elements described in thecontext of the previous figures, etc.).

As shown further in FIG. 5, several, typically different, VNFs 550 maybe installed in the same hardware unit 523. Additionally, the same VNF550 may be installed in different hardware units 523.

A VNF 550 may be executed by a processor of the hardware unit 523 in theform of a VNF instance 551. Therefore, a particular VNF 550 installed ina particular hardware unit 523 may be “incarnated” in (e.g. initiated,executed as, etc.) any number of VNF instances 551. The VNF instances551 may be independent of each other. Additionally, each VNF instance551 may serve different terminals and/or servers 552. The NFV-basednetwork 510 connects to and between communication terminal devices 552that may be operated by one or more customers, subscribers, and/orend-users.

It is appreciated that a network operator may manage one or moreservices deployed in the customer's premises. Therefore, some of thehardware units 523 may reside within the premises of the networkoperator, while other hardware units 523 may reside in the customer'spremises. Similarly, a server, such as server computer 216 of FIG. 2,may reside in the premises of the network operator or in the customer'spremises. Consequently, when the network operator provides and/ormanages one or more services for a customer's terminal devices 552 suchas a server computer, the NFV-based network 510 of the network operatormay directly manage the VNFs 550, providing the services and their VNFinstances 551.

In such situation, the NFV-based network 510 may manage the servicesirrespectively of the location of the terminal devices 552 (e.g. theserver computer 216, etc.), whether in the premises of the networkoperator or in the customer's premises. In other words, the NFV-basednetwork 510 may be managing the VNFs 550 and the VNF instances 551providing the services, as well as the terminal devices 552 (e.g. theserver computer 216, etc.) being co-located within the same computingdevice (e.g. the hardware unit 523, etc.), whether in the premises ofthe network operator or in the customer's premises or in a commercialcloud or any other place.

A service provided by the communication network may be implemented usingone or more VNFs. For example, the service may be a group, or a chain ofinterconnected VNFs. The VNFs making the group, or the service, may beinstalled and executed by a single processor, by several processors onthe same rack, within several racks in the same data-center, or byprocessors distributed within two or more data-centers. In some cases,chain optimization may be employed by optimizing the deployment of aservice in a communication network using network functionvirtualization, and to optimizing the deployment of a group, or a chain,of virtual network functions in the NFV-based network 510. Therefore,the term “chain optimization” refers to the planning and/or managing ofthe deployment of VNFs making a chain, or a group, of VNFs providing aparticular service.

For example, FIG. 5 shows a first service 553, including the VNFs 550and their respective VNF instances 554, 555, 556, and 557, and a thickline. In this example, the group or chain of the VNFs 550 making firstservice 553 are connected as a chain of VNFs 550. However, the VNFs 550making a service may be connected in any conceivable form such as astar, tree-root, tree-branch, mesh, etc., including combinationsthereof. It is noted that the VNFs 550 may be executed by two or moreVNF instances 551, such as VNF 554.

The deployment of the group or chain of the VNFs 550 making the firstservice 553 is therefore limited by constraints such as the capacity ofthe communication link 549 bandwidth and/or latency (delay).

A VNF may have a list of requirements, or specifications, such asprocessing power, cash memory capacity, regular memory capacity (e.g.RAM, dynamic, or volatile memory, etc.), non-volatile memory (e.g. suchas flash memory, etc.) capacity, storage capacity, power requirements,cooling requirements, etc. A particular VNF instance 551 providing aparticular function (e.g. to a particular customer, entity, etc.) mayhave further requirements, or modified requirements, for example,associated with a particular quality of service (QoS) or service levelagreement (SLA). Such requirements may include maximum latency or delay,average latency and maximum variance (latency jitter), maximal allowedpacket loss, etc. Other requirements may include service availability,redundancy, backup, provisions for roll-back and/or recovery,fault-tolerance, and/or fail-safe operation, etc.

A service made of a chain or a group of VNFs 550 and their VNF instances551 may have a similar list of requirements, or specifications, coveringthe service as a whole. Therefore, such requirements, or specifications,may imply, affect, or include, requirements, or specifications,regarding communication links between the VNFs 550 and/or the VNFinstances 551. Such requirements, or specifications, may includebandwidth, latency, bit-error rate, and/or packet loss, etc. Suchcommunication requirements or specifications may further imposedeployment limitations, or constraints, requiring particular VNFs 550and/or VNF instances 551 to reside in the same data-center, or withinthe same rack, or even in the same computing device, for example,sharing memory or being executed by the same processor. Securitymeasures may add further requirements, or specifications, such asco-location of some of the VNFs 550 and/or the VNF instances 551.

In the context of FIG. 5, the NFV-based network 510 has a hierarchicalstructure. There may be at least four aspects of the hierarchicalstructure of the NFV-based network 510. The networking or traffic aspectrefers to the arrangement of the transmission lines between the hardwareunits 523. The processing aspect refers to the arrangement of thehardware units 523. The software aspect refers to the arrangement of theVNFs 550. The operational aspect refers to the arrangement of the VNFinstances 551.

One aspect of the optimization process in an NFV-based network is thatit may be based on real-time needs, rather than long-term, statisticallyanticipated, needs. One potential limitation on network reconfigurationin NFV-based networks is that network configuration does not result in adeterioration beyond acceptable level of any of the current services.The NFV deployment module (e.g. module 433 of FIG. 4, etc.) may functionto enable and manage migration of services between the hardware units523, the VNFs 550, and the VNF instances 551 in real-time, withoutaffecting or with a minimal effect on the availability of a service, andwhile securing service and session continuity.

In the context of the current description, the term “continuous” meansthat the deployment optimization module and/or a chain optimizationmodule (e.g. the chain optimization module 434 of FIG. 4, etc.) performsthe relevant optimization task or process in run-time, or real-time, oronline, or on-the-fly, or repetitively and without adversely affectingthe network's functionality and its services.

Unlike a legacy network, the NFV-based network may have two topologies:the topology of the hardware devices, and the topology of the VNFs (thedistribution of VNFs among the hardware devices). The topology of thehardware network is relatively stable, while the VNF topology can beoptimized in real-time. Another benefit of the NFV-based network is thatmodifying the software topology (e.g. the distribution of VNFs among thehardware devices) is much less costly than any modification of thehardware topology. However, any modification of the network has itscost, including the cost of making such modification possible. Addedcost may result from the need to process the modification of thetopology and the re-distribution of VNF instances and to maintain excessresources for such purpose.

Thus, in some cases, it may be desired to localize the NFV-O 512, andparticularly the deployment optimization processes associated with thedeployment optimization module and the chain optimization module toreduce the cost, and simultaneously to secure the possibility to expandthe scope of the network managed by these processes, if needed.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system 600 for routing traffic to a service in anetwork including at least one virtual network service, in accordancewith one embodiment. As an option, the system 600 may be implemented inthe context of the details of the previous Figures. Of course, however,system 600 may be implemented in the context of any desired environment.Further, the aforementioned definitions may equally apply to thedescription below.

As shown, the system 600 includes a service specific manager module 602,a service specific manager aggregator 606, and a plurality ofservices/components 604. In operation, the service specific managermodule 602 may receive traffic directed to a component, analyze thetraffic, and route the traffic to a component/service 604 based on theanalyzed traffic. Such techniques may be used in the context of trafficmanagement in NFV-based networks, etc.

With the use of network function virtualization orchestration (NFV-O)and various NFV managers, there will be many competing companies sellingcompatible services. A customer could buy a virtual service (e.g. afirewall, etc.) from any number of companies. In addition, the customermay already have a physical component that performs this service.

Currently, even if the customer has multiple services that arecompatible, the decision of which services to use is independent of thedata. For example, the policy could be to use the physical service up tosome threshold, then use one service on one cloud, and then anotherservice on another cloud. Thus, currently, the main reason to usemultiple services is to be able to supply the demand when one service isoverwhelmed. The current decision on which service to use, when a numberof services are available, is independent of the data.

It is often the case that a service provides multiple functionalities.It is likely then, when comparing alternative service implementations bydifferent vendors, one service may be better on some functionalities andanother service may be better on different functionality. Thisunderstanding of the relative merits of different services is currentlynot factored into choosing which service to use for specific requests.

For example, if a customer has two firewalls and one firewall has moreup to date knowledge on traffic related to Europe and the other firewallhas more up to date knowledge on traffic related to China, it iscurrently not the case that a service will examine the data and thendecide which service to use.

Another example is that one firewall service has a very efficientimplementation of http and another of ftp. Thus, http traffic should besent to one service and ftp to another service.

The reason the inspection should be service specific is because it isdesirable to determine how this specific data will be handled byspecific services. Criteria such as cost, CPU, traffic, jitter, SLA andother criteria should be considered.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the service specific manager 202 mayinclude an internal table that shows, for each data type as analyzed,the different cost attributes of the different services. In oneembodiment, from this internal table, a routing table may be created.Without implementing the techniques discussed herein, a specific servicewould be chosen without analyzing the data.

For example, input data may include possibilities such as a request forfactoring (very heavy computationally), finding roots of polynomial(semi heavy), or moving from metrics to fit (very simple). The requestmay include both the type of request and the data itself.

For this example, utilizing the system 600, the service specific manager602 may receive the request and inspect the packet. The service specificmanager 602, according to the content, may decide to which arithmeticservice 604 to send the data (e.g. A, B, or C). Each of the services maybe physical, virtual, local, remote or on a cloud, and any combinationthereof (local physical, cloud virtual, remote physical, etc.).

In this example, there may be five categories of input of interest, longnumbers that need to be factored, short numbers that need to befactored, large polynomials, small polynomials, and metric conversions.

One example of a solution is to use a routing table where, afteranalyzing the input, it is decided which service to use. As an example,the table may be similar to Table 1.

TABLE 1 Input type Service chosen Long number to be factored A Shortnumber to be factored B Long polynomial B Short Polynomial B Conversionmetrics C

For this specific case, it can be seen that the analysis of the lengthof the polynomial is not required, so a simpler table may be used, asdepicted by Table 2.

TABLE 2 Input type Service chosen Long number to be factored A Shortnumber to be factored B Polynomial B Conversion metrics C

This means, of course, not only a simpler table may be used but alsosimpler analysis. Deriving the table may be accomplished with thespecific service in mind by either analyzing the behavior of thedifferent alternative services with respect to different data requestsor by querying the service provider as to the service characteristic.The decision may not be based on any specific factor but on a weightedcombination. In the example above, service A may be the most efficientbut it may be remote and the communication cost may be high. Thus, aslong as there is not a lot of CPU cost, B and C may be preferred over A.

One of the parameters for making the choice is cost. Different servicesmay reside on different clouds, which can change their cost during theday. Preference may change as the importance of performance may changeat peak time. In order to calculate the routing table used by theservice specific manager, in one embodiment, a different cost table maybe used, which as an example is shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Input type Service A Service B Service C Long number to be $cost per unit, factored CPU time, Traffic, SLA, Jitter Short number tobe factored Long polynomial Short Polynomial Conversion metrics

The table may be static with respect to most parameters, as those may beproperties of the service which do not change. However, the cloud maydecide on different costs, in which case if the service resides on thatcloud, the cost may change. The decision of which service is preferablefor a specific input type may depend on the evaluation of all factorsand may change with time depending on system requirements.

In various embodiments, this internal table may not be used on everypacket and may only be used to calculate the routing table.Additionally, the internal table may make different choice depending onthe utilization of a system.

FIG. 7 illustrates a network architecture 700, in accordance with onepossible embodiment. As shown, at least one network 702 is provided. Inthe context of the present network architecture 700, the network 702 maytake any form including, but not limited to a telecommunicationsnetwork, a local area network (LAN), a wireless network, a wide areanetwork (WAN) such as the Internet, peer-to-peer network, cable network,etc. While only one network is shown, it should be understood that twoor more similar or different networks 702 may be provided.

Coupled to the network 702 is a plurality of devices. For example, aserver computer 704 and an end user computer 706 may be coupled to thenetwork 702 for communication purposes. Such end user computer 706 mayinclude a desktop computer, lap-top computer, and/or any other type oflogic. Still yet, various other devices may be coupled to the network702 including a personal digital assistant (PDA) device 708, a mobilephone device 710, a television 712, etc.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary system 800, in accordance with oneembodiment. As an option, the system 800 may be implemented in thecontext of any of the devices of the network architecture 700 of FIG. 7.Of course, the system 800 may be implemented in any desired environment.

As shown, a system 800 is provided including at least one centralprocessor 801 which is connected to a communication bus 802. The system800 also includes main memory 804 [e.g. random access memory (RAM),etc.]. The system 800 also includes a graphics processor 806 and adisplay 808.

The system 800 may also include a secondary storage 810. The secondarystorage 810 includes, for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removablestorage drive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive,a compact disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive reads from and/orwrites to a removable storage unit in a well-known manner.

Computer programs, or computer control logic algorithms, may be storedin the main memory 804, the secondary storage 810, and/or any othermemory, for that matter. Such computer programs, when executed, enablethe system 800 to perform various functions (as set forth above, forexample). Memory 804, storage 810 and/or any other storage are possibleexamples of tangible computer-readable media.

While various embodiments have been described above, it should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: storing, by a network function virtualization (NFV) based network system, a routing table that correlates each of a plurality of components in the NFV based network system to one of a plurality of types of data traffic capable of being handled by the component, the plurality of components in the NFV based network system including physical network services and virtual network services, wherein the routing table is generated by: for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, determining each component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system that is capable of handling the type of data traffic, for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, selecting one of the components determined to be capable of handling the type of data traffic based on a plurality of factors; receiving, by a virtual network function (VNF) of the NFV based network system, data traffic directed to at least one first component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system, the at least one first component being one of the physical network services or one of the virtual network services; analyzing, by the VNF, the received data traffic to identify information associated with the received data traffic, the information indicating one of the plurality of types of data traffic that comprises the received data traffic; determining, by the VNF using the routing table, a second component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system that is correlated with, and thus capable of handling, the type of the received data traffic, the second component including one of the virtual network services or one of the physical network services; sending, by the VNF, the data traffic to the determined second component for handling thereof.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first component is one of the physical network services.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first component is one of the virtual network services.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second component is one of the virtual network services.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of factors includes a monetary cost.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of factors includes at least one of: a location of the component, a processing cost, a service level agreement, a cost of the component, and a jitter associated with the component.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of factors are weighted for selecting the one of the components determined to be capable of handling the type of data traffic.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a cost table is utilized to generate the routing table.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one of the components determined to be capable of handling the type of data traffic is selected responsive to determining that the component has a lowest cost.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the lowest cost is determined based on at least one of a location of the component, a processing cost for handling the data traffic, a service level agreement associated with the component, a cost of the component, and a jitter associated with the component.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one first component includes at least one other VNF.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the routing table is generated using a cost table, and wherein the cost table stores, for each of the plurality of components, values of the plurality of factors.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of factors include cost and processing time.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of data traffic each include a different geographical source location of the data traffic, wherein the plurality of components each include a firewall, and wherein the plurality of factors include, for each of the different geographical source locations, which of the firewalls has a most up to date knowledge for handling the data traffic therefrom.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of data traffic each include a different network protocol, wherein the plurality of factors include, for each of the different network protocols, which of the components has a most efficient implementation of the network protocol.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the plurality of components, values of the plurality of factors are determined by analyzing the component with respect to different data requests.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein, for each of the plurality of components, values of the plurality of factors are determined by querying a provider of the component for characteristics of the component.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein a first portion of the plurality of factors are static and include properties of the component that do not change, and wherein a second portion of the plurality of factors have values that change over time, such that the one of the components that is selected based on the plurality of factors may change over time.
 19. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer code executable by a processor to perform a method, comprising: storing, by a network function virtualization (NFV) based network system, a routing table that correlates each of a plurality of components in the NFV based network system to one of a plurality of types of data traffic capable of being handled by the component, the plurality of components in the NFV based network system including physical network services and virtual network services, wherein the routing table is generated by: for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, determining each component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system that is capable of handling the type of data traffic, for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, selecting one of the components determined to be capable of handling the type of data traffic based on a plurality of factors; receiving, by a virtual network function (VNF) of the NFV based network system, data traffic directed to at least one first component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system, the at least one first component being one of the physical network services or one of the virtual network services; analyzing, by the VNF, the received data traffic to identify information associated with the received data traffic, the information indicating one of the plurality of types of data traffic that comprises the received data traffic; determining, by the VNF using the routing table, a second component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system that is correlated with, and thus capable of handling, the type of the received data traffic, the second component including one of the virtual network services or one of the physical network services; sending, by the VNF, the data traffic to the determined second component for handling thereof.
 20. A network function virtualization (NFV) based network system comprising: a memory system; and one or more processing cores coupled to the memory system and that are each configured to: store a routing table that correlates each of a plurality of components in the NFV based network system to one of a plurality of types of data traffic capable of being handled by the component, the plurality of components in the NFV based network system including physical network services and virtual network services, wherein the routing table is generated by: for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, determining each component of the plurality of components in the NFV based system that is capable of handling the type of data traffic, for each type of data traffic of the plurality of types of data traffic, selecting one of the components determined to be capable of handling the type of data traffic based on a plurality of factors; receive, by a virtual network function (VNF) of the NFV based network system, data traffic directed to at least one first component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system, the at least one first component being one of the physical network services or one of the virtual network services; analyze, by the VNF, the received data traffic to identify information associated with the received data traffic, the information indicating one of the plurality of types of data traffic that comprises the received data traffic; determine, by the VNF using the routing table, a second component of the plurality of components in the NFV based network system that is correlated with, and thus capable of handling, the type of the received data traffic, the second component including one of the virtual network services or one of the physical network services; send, by the VNF, the data traffic to the determined second component for handling thereof. 